More than half (55%) of employees in the U.S. and 52 percent in the U.K. use a variety of social networks while at work with 72 percent in the U.S. and 80 percent in the U.K. believing they should have full access to social networking sites for personal reasons. In general, workers in the U.K. are more likely to use social networking than Americans.

"As part of our expansion into the U.K. market earlier this year, 8e6 has devoted a significant amount of time and resources to understanding the Internet habits of employees on both sides of the pond. The survey highlights the similarities and differences in both Internet use and workplace culture," said Eric Lundbohm, vice president of marketing of 8e6 Technologies.

"While there are many strategic business reasons why employees in both countries are on social networking, news and streaming media sites, IT must be aware there are also security and regulatory risks associated with employee Internet use. Proper Internet Use Policy education and effective monitoring tools are critical to solving these issues and keeping employees safe, compliant and on-task."

The majority (85%) of workers in the U.S. and 89 percent in the U.K. believe their personal Internet use at work is acceptable, 34 percent in the U.S. and 35 percent in the U.K. spend at least an hour or more each workday on personal Internet use.

The majority of those who use social networking to communicate with co-workers and clients are in the 18-24 age group.

Users age 40-50 are aware of proxies used to bypass Web filters at the same rate as the 18-24 group, but about double the number of 18-24 users have used them to access blocked sites.

Only a small percentage of users (3 % in U.K., 5 % in U.S.) have been disciplined for Internet use policy violations.